Vineland Social Maturity Scale

VINELAND SOCIAL MATURITY SCALE INDIAN ADAPTATION 12-1-2016 Introduction Social maturity is related to how well people understand the nature of the social world they live within. It has been variously defined and described at different age levels for children. In every culture there is a process of socialization in which the individual moves from an uncultured and unskilled stage to a condition of interpersonal affiliation and harmony as a member of his society. Therefore, the degree of a child’s social maturity can be defined as the level of significant social behavior attained at a given age. Social maturity may be assessed according to the way it is manifested in the child behavior. Persons with intellectual impairments experience varying degrees of deficits in social skills, which can lead to isolation, stigmatization, lack of coping skills, increased maladaptive behaviors, and increased rates of psychopathology (Matson & Hammer 1996). The Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) is a non-projective personality measurement scale designed to help in the assessment of social competence. It was developed by the American psychologist Edgar Arnold Doll. It is a quality psychometric questionnaire and a good measure of adaptive behavior. An Indian adaptation of the test is used to measure social maturity of children in the Indian population.

Description of the test The Vineland social maturity scale was originally developed by E. A. Doll in 1935 and was later adapted by Dr. J. Bharath Raj and has since been used in many parts of the country. This scale not only provides social age (SA) and social quotient

measures but also indicates the social deficits and social assets in a growing child. It is for the ages of 0 to 15 years. It is also a good measure to identify mental retardation as well as superior intelligence. The test consists of 89 items measuring 8 different domains of social maturity:        

Communication skills (COM) General self-help ability (SHG) Locomotion skills (LOC) Occupation skills (OCC) Self-direction (SD) Self-help eating (SHE) Self-help dressing (SHD) Socialization skills (SOC) This scale requires responses from a parent along with the child which ensures

that responses are marked accurately as parents are usually assumed to have accurate recall of their child’s development. Usually, the mother is asked for responses and the child is seated next to her and clear/correct responses when the parent is wrong or unsure. In addition, the scale provides an overall social quotient measure as well as the maturity age level for each of the domains of social maturity enhancing the ability to find developmental lags and for later training in the same. The Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS), despite its limitations, is an excellent clinical technique and includes psychometric and questionnaire characteristics. It is a good single measure of adaptive behavior. It lends itself to identifying personal-social strengths and weaknesses of youngsters and special education students. The Profile is recommended to school counselors, school psychologists, and teachers.

Administration

Procedure. The parent (usually the mother) and child are seated comfortably and rapport is established with both. Certain socio-demographic details are procured. Items are ticked or crossed depending on whether the item has been accomplished or not. Instruction. The parent is told the following – “I will be asking a few questions about certain developmental milestones of your child for particular ages. Depending on whether or not your child accomplished these tasks at that particular age, answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. In case you do not understand something, please clarify before answering”. Norms and scoring. The number of items which have been ticked are totalled and the corresponding social age for the score is added by referring to the table. The social quotient is computed by dividing social age by the chronological age and multiplying by hundred. This social quotient can be interpreted by the normative IQ interpretation. The client’s age-level maturity for each of the 8 domains is also determined with reference to the table to indicate if the child accomplished ageappropriate tasks.

Socio-demographic details Name: A. G. S. Age: 12 Gender: Female Occupation: Student Languages spoken: Hindi, English, Gujarati, and Tamil Rural/Urban: Urban Socio-Economic Status: Upper Socio-economic Status

Marital Status: Unmarried Referred by: NA Referred for: NA Presenting complaints: NA Duration of illness: NA

Observations The client and her mother were attentive throughout the test-taking procedure. Her mother answered all the questions but was doubtful about certain items. She was also a little restless towards the end as it was their dinnertime. It was easy to build rapport with her and she had good comprehension. She finished answering the questions in about half an hour.

Results: Table 1: Showing the results of client AGS on the Vineland Social Maturity Scale Indian Adaptation Social Maturity Social Maturity Quotient Domains Self-help General (SHG) Self-help eating (SHE) Self-help Dressing (SHD) Self-Direction (SD) Occupation (OCC) Communication (COM) Locomotion (LOC) Socialization (SOC)

Interpretation

Score 58.33 Item accomplished 23 75 86 87 89 78 77 88

Interpretation Mild retardation Maturity level years 1-2 (lower) 9-10 12-15 12-15 12-15 10-11 (lower) 9-10 12-15

The social quotient for client AGS was 58.33. The score falls in the category of mild retardation and may imply deficits in her social maturity. Item 23 (avoids simple obstacles) has been achieved in the domain of SHG (Self-Help General), which indicates maturity for age 1-2 instead of 7-8, which is the ideal maturity level. The client needs training in this domain. Client AGS also showed accomplished maturity for the domain of SHE (SelfHelp Eating) by achieving the task of caring for self at meals (Item 75). It was accomplished within the normal age group of 9-10 years. No further training is required. In the domain of SHD (Self-Help Dressing), AGS achieved item 86 by age 12 in accordance with the norms. She was able to exercise complete care of her clothing. No further training is required. Client AGS achieved item 87 (buys own clothing accessories) in the domain of SD (Self-Direction). This is in accordance with the maturity level of her age. No further training is required. In the domain of OCC (Occupation), AGS achieved item 89 (performs responsible routine chores) appropriate for her age. No further training is required. Client AGS achieved item 78 (writes occasional short letters to friends) in the domain of COM (Communication). The item was accomplished by age 10-11, which is lower than the normative age. Training is required. In domain LOC (Locomotion), the client achieved item 77 (goes about home freely) indicating maturity for this domain has been accomplished by age 9-10. No further training is required.

AGS accomplished item 88 (engages in adolescent group activities) in the domain of SOC (socialization) showing maturity appropriate for her age. No further training is required.

Summary Client AGS achieved age-appropriate social maturity on all domains except for Self-Help General and Communication. In the SHG domain, she achieved item 23 indicating a gap in social maturity as her chronological age is 12 and the age indicated by the accomplished item was 1-2 years. This lag is considerably larger than on the domain of Communication, which is one level lower than the norm. Her Social Quotient was 58.33 but there is a possibility that the interviewer was not able to clearly explain the items to the mother and the child as her personal account of AGS indicated that her social maturity was age appropriate and that there were no developmental or adjustment lags.

Recommendations i) ii)

Self-help training to improve child’s initiative taking ability. Parent counseling to allow more room for learning for the child and more communication.

References Doll, Edgar Arnold (1953). The measurement of social competence: a manual for the Vineland social maturity scale. Educational Test Bureau, Educational Publishers. doi:10.1037/11349-000 Doll, E. A. (1940). "Annotated bibliography on the Vineland Social Maturity Scale.”. Journal of Consulting Psychology 4 (4): 123–132. doi:10.1037/h0063524

Jain, T. (2016). Brief notes on the concpet of Social Maturity. Preservearticles.com. Retrieved 2 February 2016, from http://www.preservearticles.com/2011082611929/brief-notes-on-theconcpet-of-social-maturity.html